The Quintessential Southern Fried Chicken.

As I have mentioned before, I have all of James Villas' books. I think that there are currently 15 of them. He is an amazing food writer, and has won numerous awards in the culinary world. As a clean freak, I almost never fry. There is just no way to prevent a huge mess in the kitchen with the flour batter and cooking oil. But my mother always did a very good job frying chicken, and one of these days, I'm going to take my electric skillet, run an extension cord outside, and fry all day long.

The Quintessential Southern Fried Chicken
From Between Bites by James Villas (John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2002)

1 (3 ½ pound) chicken
3 teaspoons salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
3 cups buttermilk
Juice of ½ a lemon
3 cups (1 ½ pounds) shortening
1 ½ cups flour
¼ cup lard
Method:

Divide chicken into 8 pieces. Rinse under cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Season with 1 teaspoon of salt plus pepper. Combine buttermilk with lemon juice in large bowl. Add chicken to bowl, cover, and refrigerate at least 2 hours, and up to overnight.

Remove chicken from refrigerator and bring to room temperature. Melt shortening in large heavy skillet. Make sure shortening is ½ inch deep, if necessary, add more shortening to pan. Combine flour, remaining salt, and more pepper in heavy brown shopping bag. Remove dark meat pieces of chicken from buttermilk. Let excess buttermilk drain from each piece, before placing it in bag. Shake bag vigorously to coat. Add lard to skillet and when small bubbles appear on surface, reduce heat slightly. Remove chicken pieces from bag one by one, shaking off excess flour, and using tongs, lower gently into hot fat.

Arrange pieces in skillet for even cooking. Reduce heat to medium, and cook 11-17 minutes. Reduce heat slightly, turn with tongs, and fry 11-17 minutes longer. Quickly repeat all steps with white pieces, adjusting heat as needed, frying 2 minutes less than needed for dark pieces.

Drain chicken at least 5 minutes, then transfer to serving platter without reheating. Serve hot, or at room temperature.